Cetch Me If You Can
by Alpha-17
Summary: Heat, sand, fearsome robed nomads, giant slugs, outlaws, bounty hunters and smugglers; these are the things one thinks of when one thinks of Tattoine. This is the story of a few such individuals whose paths cross on this dust ball and are forever changed.


**People you will meet:**

**Or-Cal, **Former Clone commando and Imperial assassin. He is currently a bounty hunter working for Jabba the Hutt.

**DeeZee,**is a highly modified Arakyd Industries DZ-70 tracker droid with a colorful past, unfortunately he doesn't remember it due to corrupted memory circuits that he is trying to repair.

**Enoc, **Former Clone commando and pilot, previously Or-cal's team leader. Had an unfriendly parting with the Empire which ended in people believing that he is dead.

**Sienna, **is a down on her luck smuggler friend of Enoc.

**Mal-Aki, **is Enoc's 6 year old adopted son and is a mostly near human from the planet Arthis in the Unknown regions.

**AND NOW IT BEGINS!**

_**A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…**_

**Catch me if you can!**

**PROLOGUE:**

Heat, sand, fearsome robed nomads, giant slugs, outlaws, bounty hunters and smugglers; these are the things one thinks of when one thinks of Tattoine, that back water planet in the outer rim.

This is the story of a few such individuals whose paths cross on this dust ball and are forever changed weather for good or for bad, no one but the Force knows……..

Outside of that artificial mountain of dura-steel and concrete that is known as Jabba's palace, a metallic scraping sound is heard as the great metal door slides open, allowing a figure with a black cloak and white armor similar to an Imperial scot trooper's to step into the twin suns light.

* * *

**CHAPTER 1**

_**"Why,"**_ Or-Cal wondered as he walked out of the palace. **"**_**I thought that I was done being Jabba's little enforcer, going after the idiots that double cross him".**_As he looked at his data pad he got a better understanding of why Jabba was paying him so much for these two people. Apparently these couriers had given the info that they were supposed to give Jabba to lady Valarian instead. _**"That was dumb"**_ he thought.

The large metal door of Jabba's palace closed with a clashing thud. He was glad to be out of there. That place gave him the creeps. Admittedly, he'd seen worse, couldn't think of one at the moment but he knew he could if he tried, maybe.

The twin suns had been up for several hours already and it was starting to get hot. But despite the heat, the sand, and the dry air Or-Cal still thought it was a beautiful day, by Tattooine standards.

He approached the spot behind the palace where he left his old swoop. He had bought it from an old moisture farmer some years back, the farmer was known to drive that old thing much faster than he was supposed to back in his day so he was told. He smiled at the thought of the older man's nephew, the little sandy haired boy who looked so sad to see the swoop go before he was old enough to use it. "That's why I'm selling it." The older man had said. Or-Cal smiled at that memory. He had so few good ones.

He had actually spent some time with the farmer and his family as they had patched him up after finding him in the desert after that not-so-friendly run in with those Desert Demon swoop gangers. During that time he had grown quite fond of the boy, Luke. He reminded him of his clone "brother" Dice, kind and sensitive, good at fixing things, yet something about him also reminded him of Enoc. There was some feeling, some aura around him.

Of course the Lars' had another thing in common with his old unit, his Vode, they were all dead.

"_**If one thing is certain in life,"**_ Or-Cal thought, _**"its death."**_

"_**Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum, ner'cyare Kalsala bal Ket'lec, ner'vod'e Enoc, Dice, bal Torm."**_

_(I'm still alive, but you are dead. I remember you, so you are eternal, my beloved Kalsala and Ket'lec, my brothers Enoc, Dice, and Torm.)_

He remembered the day he heard that the Lars' had been killed by Tuscan Raiders. But he knew that was not so for he had a friend among the Raiders that had seen it and told him it was Imperial Storm Troopers.

"_Storm Troopers, Ori'buyce, kih'kovid."_Or-Cal said to himself. If there was one thing he hated more than Jabba it was the Empire. For thanks to the Empire all that he had once loved was gone. He'd spent his time serving the Emperor, working on his secret exploration program, the IEGEP. Hunting down those he said without question, for that was what he had been created for. When his brothers disappeared, he could sort of understand, such was war, but to chase him down and slaughter his wife and child? His old "friend" Palpatine had gone too far.

"**_One day old friend, one day, if not I then another, but one day…"_**

As he got on his swoop he clicked on his comm-unit to contact his copilot_. "Dee-Zee, I need you to start warming up the ship, we've got to get to Mos Espa in the next 15 minutes if we are going to get a chance at this."_

_"Affirmative response: Yes master, I'll have this… ship, up and running in 5 minutes. And sir… could you please not chase them into space? I don't think this rattle-trap will survive another one of your attempts at space combat again. Could you let me do the flying this time?"_

Or-Cal groaned, _"Yeah you can fly this time."_

_**"If only Enoc had taught me more about star fighter combat before..."**_ Or-cal stopped that thought before he could go further.

He arrived at the small landing pad at the village of Wayfar seven minutes later. As he quickly jammed the swoop into the star fighter's small cargo bay he shouted up to Dee-Zee who was already inside, _"Let's go, we're late!"_

Dee-Zee fired up the systems on the"_**Kad be kyr'am."**_ The Skipray blast boat started sending clouds of sand swirling everywhere as the engine roared to life. Due to their hurriedness they didn't bother with the normal takeoff protocols, thus causing a few nearby Jawas to run and duck for cover as Dee-Zee was barely off the ground before he went full throttle.

Or-Cal didn't see much difference in their flying styles except for when he tried to do what the little DZ-70 tracker droid did, it usually ended in disaster.

After a very short flight that terrorized a few banthas, they arrived at Mos Espa.

After securing the ship they went to a cantina in the junk district to start their search. Or-Cal figured that he'd start there for he is well known in all the cantinas of Tattooine. Some times that was a good thing, and sometimes not.

_"The mark's name is Sienna. The description is medium height, long dark brown hair usually kept in a bun on top of her head, and she travels with a man with one arm."_

Or-cal read the info to DZ then downloaded their bio-metric data into his tracking module.

"_I'll start by asking the bartender for any Intel on them, and since droids are not allowed inside, you go to the star port and see if you can find their ship. The name is_ _**Hair's Breadth.**__ Meet me here in 5 minutes."_

_"Informative statement: Very well but how about we start by following those two meat-bags over there, you see, the one with brown hair and the one with one arm? They match the bio-data you gave me."_

_"This is why I keep you around."_

_"Witty comment: And here I thought it was my charming personality."_

"_Indeed, that as well," Or-Cal chuckled. "Now let's get into position."_

_

* * *

_

_"Okay, we need some more power couplings and a couple of spanners..."_Sienna side-stepped to avoid being jostled by a swarm of Jawas leading a loaded dewback and then side-stepped again to avoid stepping in something nasty as she and Enoc navigated through the teaming streets of Mos Espa. It was just after midday and the market streets were crowded with shoppers and deliveries.

Sienna brushed a loose strand of brown hair back behind her ear as she consulted the shopping list on the data pad in her hand, paying only partial attention to the flow of beings around them and navigating by instinct and practice. The runner didn't like crowds much, but there was a benefit to the anonymity that they provided. Not that she had any reason to suspect that she needed that anonymity at the moment, but in her line of work, it paid to keep a low profile.

Some smugglers liked to advertise their reputations, and such notoriety was often quite good for landing them contracts, but it was also quite good at painting targets on their backs. Sienna herself preferred the label "runner" over "smuggler" although it was in reality merely a matter of semantics. Still, she continued to do enough legit shipping and currier runs that her _entire_ income was not dependant on the underworld. You didn't get rich that way, but you also didn't get dead as fast.

Sienna's lips quirked into a small smile as she saw one of the items at the bottom of their list. _"Oh, and apparently we have a galaxy shattering need for 'lots more Cardellian mints.' Gee, wonder who added that to the list...?"_ The image of a little boy with dark hair and big eyes who had fetched the datapad for her before they left the ship earlier floated fondly through her thoughts. _Mal'aki._

If it was just her, or just her and Enoc, Sienna might have been inclined to take more chances in order to pursue higher profit and stop living quite so hand-to-mouth. Especially since she had come to know just how capable and formidable her former clone commander friend was. But there was Mal'aki to consider, and Sienna didn't feel like dragging a six-year-old any further into danger than was necessary. She rather thought that Enoc felt the same, although it was hard to know what went on inside his head sometimes. He'd always been the quiet type, and even after all these years there were still parts of him that were a mystery to her. But he was a good and trustworthy friend, of that much she was certain.

So, here they were... shopping for supplies and spare parts in Mos Espa's junk district, because that's what their current budget could handle.

The unmerciful dual suns of Tattooine beat down on her dark hair and Sienna silently cursed herself for forgetting her hat back on the ship. Perspiration was making her clothes damp and the pack she was carrying kept slipping as the strap became slick. Hitching it higher up on her shoulder, she swiped her wayward hair back behind her ear again, with more irritation this time as she felt perspiration trickle down her brow and sting her eyes. _Sith, it was hot. _She hated hot planets. She really did. They made her irritable. The damp hair slid right back into her face again and the pack slid off her shoulder and down her arm, forcing her to grab for it as she juggled the datapad.

A large, strong hand caught the pack strap and held it, easing it off her arm_. "Hey, let me."_Enoc easily slid the pack onto his own shoulder, alongside the one he was already carrying. Sienna hesitated, then let him with a small, grateful smile. There was a time she would have felt the need to snatch it back from him, to prove her independence and ability to get along just fine without anyone's help _thank-you-very-much_, but time and friendship had dulled those edges.

Sienna felt something damp and warm settle on her head, blocking the harsh rays that had felt like they were trying to scorch her hair off her scalp. She glanced up to see that Enoc had plopped his floppy-brimmed hat onto her head. She cast a questioning look at him, feeling a little guilty. _"You don't have to..."_

Enoc regarded the smaller woman beside him, his strong, slightly weathered features wearing the faint grin that had only begun to make a real appearance in recent years. His now hatless head sported close-cut dark hair and a broad, somewhat flattened nose, brows shadowing watchful, but kind eyes.

Enoc shrugged_. "Self-preservation. I know how you get when you overheat,"_ he said with a small twinkle in his dark eyes. _"I'd like to make it back to the ship in one piece."_

Sienna gave him a look and a small mock-shove as they walked, but she was smiling as she pushed the data pad into her pocket. She adjusted his hat to a jaunty angle on her head, untangling the chin string and letting it dangle loosely around her neck_. "Thanks."_

Suddenly Enoc's body tensed as he felt a familiar stirring inside him, tugging at his consciousness, whispering of danger. He'd learned by now about his limited force-sensitivity and he knew to head that warning. But the scene around them seemed deceptively calm and normal. His steps didn't falter, but his gaze became doubly alert, quickly scanning the area for potential threats with the eye of a trained soldier.

Sienna sensed some barely definable change in her companion's demeanor and glanced back towards him, her brows furrowing slightly in concern. For that one moment, she wasn't watching where she was going and nearly colliding with a hurrying Gran that was trying to push through the crowd faster than the rest of the flow. The three-eyed being barked angrily at her in his native tongue as Sienna tried to avoid the collision and gave her a rough shove before she even realized what was happening. Caught off balance, Sienna stumbled, tripping over an uneven rut in the street and pitching forward quite ungracefully. She landed on her knees with a painful jar, just narrowly avoiding banging her head against several storage drums sitting outside a nearby shop. The whole thing had taken only instants to happen, and although she didn't know it, it had saved her life.

The Gran jerked, giving a squeal of pain as bright blood blossomed sharply across his shoulder, which was now right about where Sienna's head had been a heartbeat ago.

For a moment, no one other than the injured Gran even seemed to realize what had happened. The shot had been silent and the teaming crowd was loud and busy. Sienna heard the cry though and smelt the acrid odor of scorched flesh. She looked up in time to see the bleeding, shrieking Gran trying desperately to force his way through the crowd, to escape. At first she didn't understand what was happening. She rolled from her knees to a crouch, hand going immediately to the blaster strapped to her thigh out of instinct, but she thought that perhaps someone had been chasing the Gran and that's why he'd been in such a hurry...

Enoc knew otherwise. Somehow, he just _knew. _Trained instincts picked out the direction of the shot and instantly followed it to where the best position for a sniper at that location would be. Sure enough, he saw the tell tale glint of a muzzle and the flares of a second and third shot. The shooter was good, he was tracing Sienna's position and anticipating any attempts to dodge, laying down a pattern of fire she could not escape. Enoc hadn't seen anyone that good in a long time, but he was already in motion, instincts and the Force guiding him. He whipped the light saber off his belt, activating it even as he threw himself to the ground. The blue light of the energy blade hummed to life. Raising the blade as he dived, he deflected the second shot harmlessly, tackling Sienna and rolling her sideways across the dusty street, out of the path of the third shot. The light saber blade was flicked off again just as quickly as he curled his arm around Sienna to keep her with him as they tumbled, his unerring momentum rolling them into the shelter of a shop doorway.

It was only as Enoc's compact body slammed into her and she saw the bright, momentary flash of his saber deflecting a plasma bolt that Sienna realized with a jolt of shock that whoever the attacker was... he was gunning for _her._

_**What the Sith?!**_Sienna couldn't think of anyone she'd ticked off badly enough to want to kill her. Not within the past few months anyway. Well, there was that one bouncer... but no, he wouldn't have followed her all the way to Tattooine. Right now, however, _who _was irrelevant. Getting to cover was what mattered.

The third shot missed Sienna and Enoc by mere inches and plowed instead into one of the storage drums that Sienna had been next to before. Whatever was in that drum must have been combustible, because it exploded in an impressive fireball that blasted scorching heat and bits of melted shrapnel into the street.

The angle of the doorway protecting them from the worst of the blast, Enoc pressed Sienna hard into the wall, shielding her with his body as burning shards of metal and dust fell around them.

The crowd had been starting to stir a little uneasily a moment ago, finally reacting in small knots to the wounded and panicking Gran as he ran away to safety. It wasn't that uncommon to see blaster wounds around here though, and most of the populace were just trying to stay out of the way and not get involved. When the tank blew up, however, that got everyone's attention and the once bustling crowd turned into a shrieking, terrified wave of life forms all struggling to get away at the same time, which meant that no one was getting anywhere very fast.

No one appeared to have been very seriously hurt by the blast, but the street had turned into positive bedlam and chaos reigned. Enoc sprung quickly back to his feet. The chaos was good because it would hide them and probably put their attacker to flight, but it would also severely hamper his chances of being able to reach the sniper's nest before the bird had flown.

Sienna scrambled quickly to her feet beside Enoc, blaster in hand, eyes rapidly scanning the panicking crowd and beyond for any signs of their would-be assailant. Enoc's hat had come off her head and now dangled down her back from the string around her neck, her bun was askew and there was dust in her hair. _"What the heck was that?"_

Enoc gave his head a small shake, dust filtering from his short cropped locks as they were swept further into the shop, people started to crowd their refuge. The former clone commander was already looking for a back way out of the place_. "Beats me, but somebody wants you, possibly both of us, dead. That wasn't random."_

Sienna knew that, but hearing it confirmed didn't do much for the ice in her stomach. She felt a flare of anger around her apprehension too_. "Why?"_ She still didn't understand, but she was already shaking her head, knowing the uselessness of her own question. There were no answers to be had here. _"There's an exit on the second floor, come on,"_she said instead, seeing Enoc's searching gaze and realizing what he was looking for. She'd been in this place before and she recalled that the second floor of the adobe structure led to another level of shops built into the mud-and-stucco architecture of the market place.

Sienna tried to force a path to the stairs, but the panicked mass of beings now crowding the shop stymied her attempts and she resisted the urge to kick a few people, or better yet, shoot them. While that might be satisfying, it would probably only make things worse.

Enoc reached her side and grabbed her hand, using his greater mass and his determined will to drive a path for them through the throng. With her free hand, Sienna grabbed onto the mesh back of one of the packs Enoc was still somehow remarkably carrying and stayed close, jostling along in his wake as they pushed through the crowd. A minute or two later they had gained the stairs and were hurrying up them towards the second level exit.

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

"_Osi'kyr! Jeti!"_ Or-cal cursed in Mendo'a

"_Intrigued question: a what? "_DeeZee asked.

"_A Jedi you rusty bucket of bolts, how many exits are there from that building?"_

"_Indignant reply: a few moments ago you were remarking how nice it was having me around, now you are comparing me to a circular opened top container made of an oxidized metal ally full of metallic fasteners? Really master sometimes you can be such a meat bag."_

"_Sorry DeeZee,"_Or-Cal said as he reloaded his rifle with a Xerrol gas cartridge. Although he had only fired three shots and had more in the old cartridge he wasn't taking any chances with that Jedi, even though each Xerrol cartridge cost him two-thousand credits. For the Xerrol cartridge would give the assassin the edge he needed to fight the Jedi, for it gave his rifle the ability to fire invisible blaster bolts.

"_I've got a feeling that this is going to be harder than I thought. Where are they now? What are your sensors picking up?"_

"_Distracted statement: can't get a lock on those two, to many meat bags in the way, wait a second, I've got two meat bags matching the bio-profile of our marks heading up a staircase in the back of the store, sending the coordinates and thermal image to your targeting computer now."_

Inside Or-Cal's helmet, the grainy image flickered to life on the heads up display. Despite the static caused by the Tattooine heat, he could make out the shape of two humanoids moving up though the structure.

"_Get me a floor plan of the building and all the surrounding structures."_

A few moments later all the data DeeZee could glean from his sensor scans appeared before him. Though not as complete due to the lax building records on Tattooine, he could still get an approximate idea of the layout of the buildings and all possible escape routes.

"_There is another level of shops on the second floor leading to an exit to the roof of the market. DeeZee go and track them from there, but keep your distance 'till I tell you. You're useless to me cut in a million pieces."_ He gave a playful smile to the droid. _"Remember last time?"_

"_Slightly irritated statement: You're never going to let me live that down are you?"_

"_Nope, now get your little repulser behind moving!"_

As the little droid flew off, it gave him the impression of a Kaminoian jelly fish swooping down on its prey.

Now Or-Cal busied himself with getting down from his perch,

He raised himself to his feet, shouldered his rifle and walked to the edge of the building he was on.

Once the little light in his helmet turned on he jumped from his hiding place in the tower, and then landed effortlessly on the ground below thanks to the repulser unit on his back and boots.

The unit wasn't much larger then a small back pack but when interlinked with his armor, especially his boots, it allows him to jump long distances and will cushion him when he falls.

"_**Being one of the best Imperial assassins in the galaxy has its perks. You get all the highest marks. And that means you get all the best toys."**_ He thought as he ran though the streets and crowds to get to the market.

Or-Cal's comm crackled to life_. "Informative statement: Sir I have them in sight, sending you their location now._

_

* * *

_

Mando translations:

Vode

_(Brothers)_

"Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum, ner'cyare Kalsala bal Ket'lec, ner'vod'e Enoc, Dice, bal Torm."

_(I'm still alive, but you are dead. I remember you, so you are eternal, my beloved Kalsala and Ket'lec, my brothers Enoc, Dice, and Torm.)_

Ori'buyce, kih'kovid.

_(All helmet no head.)_

Osi'kyr! Jeti!

_(A strong exclamation of surprise or dismay, and Jeti means Jedi.)_So ya know the drill, Please please review, that way I'll get the next update sooner!!!!

* * *

Ret'

(thanks)

~Alpha


End file.
